16 octobre 2018

PRESS RELEASE — Inno-centre, Accélérateur de création d’entreprises technologiques (ACET—accelerator for the creation of technology businesses), and Sherbrooke Innopole have recently signed a partnership agreement for innovative business acceleration in the City of Sherbrooke and surrounding region. This support program, led by Inno-centre, is comprised of two components designed for businesses at various stages of growth.

Inno-centre’s Chief Operating Office, Pierre Nelis, is confident that, “This agreement will enable businesses in the Sherbrooke region to take advantage of additional leverage to drive their growth; Inno-centre’s expertise is truly unmatched in Québec.”

“We are very excited about this partnership with Inno-centre, whose support program for growth acceleration has been proven throughout Québec. As well as providing the industrial expertise of professionals from ACET and Sherbrooke Innopole, the agreement will enable Sherbrooke’s start-up technology companies and SMEs to benefit from specialized services that will facilitate the attainment of their specific business goals,” stated Josée Fortin, Director General of Sherbrooke Innopole, and Ghyslain Goulet, President and CEO of ACET.

Responding to the needs of every company

The agreement’s first component targets start-up technology companies with strong market potential and less than $2M in sales. Participating companies will be able to benefit from up to 160 hours of professional business support services designed to provide them with expertise, most notably in marketing.

Thanks to the participation of ACET and Sherbrooke Innopole, this program can be provided to companies at a highly affordable cost. These services are also available thanks to the contributions of Canada Economic Development for Quebec Regions (CED) and the Ministère de l’Économie, de la Science et de l’Innovation du Québec (MESI).

The second component targets innovative SMEs with more than $2M in sales. Companies participating will be able to benefit from up to 200 hours of professional business support services with a specific focus on enabling them to meet their growth challenges at commercial, organizational, and other levels. These services are made possible thanks to the National Research Council Canada (NRC), among others.

Sources: Inno-centre, Sherbrooke Innopole et ACET